ഉക്രൈനില് ഉണ്ടായിട്ടുള്ള സംഭവ വികാസങ്ങളിലെക്കൊരു എത്തിനോട്ടം Ukraine crisis suci-c.in/era/era.htm People strangled by capitalists-imperialists and their brute power game In recent few months the world appears to be on boil. Of all the international events which are rocking the world, the Ukraine event earns a distinction on many counts. It is not merely an event of ‘people’s rebellion against an autocratic rule’, nor just a ‘struggle for democracy’ as the US imperialists and their lackeys with the help of pliant media try to make the world believe. Their cries for democracy rather prove to be in the same refrain in which they raise the hype whenever they come out to force a change of regime be it in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or Syria. Nor, it is marked merely by uncalled for Russian military intervention into its neighbour’s affairs ostensibly to protect people of Russian origin or speaking Russian. The events of Ukraine have deeper roots. But to reach there we may start from the surface, from what happened to give rise to the present crisis. Precipitation of the turmoil Trouble began when on 21 November last year Viktor Yanukovych, now deposed president of the country, announced his sudden decision to postpone signing the “association agreement” with the European Union in favour of aid and natural gas agreements with Russia, though he had earlier agreed to sign it on 29 November. There were huge demonstrations at the heart of Kiev, the capital city. People at large were on the streets. Yet the forces that led them were all shady. There was the party of Yulia Tymoshenko. She is the former Prime Minister and a billionaire tycoon who, along with others of her same flock, usurped the ownership rights of government factories and mining companies virtually free of cost when the Soviet Union had collapsed. She had lost power in the last election and was thrown into prison on corruption charges to be set free only recently during the present crisis. Immediately on release she addressed the protesters emotionally, as well as underlined her allegiance by making prompt phone calls to the German Chancellor, top officials and ambassadors of the USA and the EU. Then there was the party led by a former heavyweight-boxing champion, Vitali Klitschko, whom the EU, more so the German imperialism, is reportedly backing as a future presidential candidate. Finally, there was the frightening right-wing fascist Svoboda (Freedom) Party and its allies based on anti-Russia nationalism and anti-Semitism. They defaced monuments to heroes of the World War II victory over Nazism and even brought down the statue of V.I. Lenin, the great leader of the proletariat, from the pedestal and set up the Svoboda party flag and flag of the Nazi era there. Thus, by any definition these were the rightist, pro-imperialist, even fascist blend of bourgeois parties that were leading people in their protests. The protesters wanted change of government. The Ukrainian parliament ultimately voted to depose the President and promised to hold presidential elections on 25 May 2014. The president fled the capital, eventually turning up in Russia. But clashes with the security forces continued and nearly 100 people died. The security forces surrendered the centre of Kiev to the protesters, who claimed full control of the city along with the arms and arsenals of the security forces. A new government was formed. Role of the imperialist-capitalist powers Meanwhile, announcing that this was a matter of defending ethnic Russians and pro-Russian Ukrainians in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula of the country, the capitalist government of Russia issued an ultimatum to Ukrainian forces. Soldiers in Russian uniform without insignia took charge of all important government locations in Crimea. Ukraine’s new government and its leaders appealed to the western imperialist powers to help stop Russia. In a hasty statement, the US government praised the “constructive work” done by the Ukrainian parliament and prescribed from their far- away position ‘the prompt formation of a broad, technocratic government of national unity.’ British Foreign Minister William Hague and US Secretary of State John Kerry rushed to Kiev to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the country’s shaky new government, rather help its formation. Obama, the US president issued threats of sanction and loss of G8 membership to Russia. Intervention of the UN was sought for. On face of adverse reactions, Russia withdrew its military move, but continued to play covert games in Crimea. However in the rest of the country, the ground was all open to the rightist forces and their imperialist mentors. While clamouring against Russian incursion, the US imperialists nakedly imposed sanction and warned those undermining the “democratic processes”, dictated terms and thus nakedly intervened in Ukraine’s internal matters. Crimea remained the centre of a stand-off. Pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian demonstrations clashed with each other. While the former, apparently larger in number declined to go with ‘Ukrainian fascists’, the latter chanted slogan against ’illegal occupation’ of Crimea. Pro- Russian lawmakers stood for a referendum on 16 March, a move that has been dismissed as ‘illegitimate’ by the new Ukraine government backed by the western imperialist powers. Ukraine, new hotbed of imperialist machination The Ukraine crisis is thus deep enough to draw in the major powers of the capitalist- imperialist world, namely the USA and the EU countries led by Germany, France, on the one side and the Russian Federation on the other. They are embroiled in a crisis that seemed at one stage to be one of the severest of confrontations since the days of the “Cold War”, between the western imperialist power bloc and Russia, now itself a capitalist-hegemonic power. The US involvement and intrigue are further exposed from the intercepted phone call between US diplomats, available all over the Internet. In it, the US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland was found to be speaking openly of how Washington had been manipulating Ukrainian opposition politicians, including making an investment of $5 billion for taking over Ukraine . The money was meant for the 40,000 non-governmental organizations the US set up in that country since a decade back. The Russian capitalism in its turn, is frantically trying to retain its sphere of influence as best as it is presently possible, by manipulating the proceedings of Crimea, where the Russian Federation has a naval base. As against all of these forces, the Ukrainian people including those of Crimea or eastern Ukraine are on the receiving end. Besides being torn apart by the ruthless capitalist exploitation and oppression, as in other capitalist country of the world, accentuating every passing moment with intensification of market crisis and industrial recession of the world capitalist system, they are now pawns in the hands of the brigands and hegemons engaged in power duel. To comprehend a full implication and significance of these unfolding developments, it may be necessary to recall a brief background history of the country. A brief history of Ukraine Ukraine is presently a European country bordered by the Russian Federation in the east, Black Sea in the south, a few east European countries in the west and Belarus in the north. Since the oldest Slavic states disintegrated in the 12th century, the territory became a playground of different kingdoms and empires , first of Poland, Lithuania and Crimea under the Ottoman empire, and then of the Austro-Hungarian empire in a smaller Ukrainian speaking western part and the Russian empire in the vast Russian speaking eastern part. After the first world war, the western imperialist powers defeated and abolished the Turkish Ottoman empire till then existing in Crimea. At that time, the Tsarist Russia was radically transformed into a socialist state and in its trail, a host of countries around was liberated from their colonial rule to become constituents of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. Ukraine became a sovereign Soviet socialist state since 1922. Ethnically- linguistically Ukraine had a dominantly Ukrainian speaking population living in the western part and a Russian speaking, even ethnically Russian population forming overwhelming majority in the eastern part and Crimea. After the second world war, the US imperialists were at the helm of the capitalist imperialist camp and right from the day the war ended, began hatching conspiracy to encircle and destroy the new born USSR. For the purpose, the NATO led by the US was set up as a formidable military alliance, ostensibly from behind the cloak of cooperation with and reconstruction of war-ravaged Europe. However, as the socialist camp grew mightier under the leadership of greats like Lenin, Stalin and Mao Zedong, Ukraine, with rich natural resources, started to develop as a modern state and its socialist economy triggered marked industrial development particularly in the western part. Ukraine economy under socialism and now The second world war had left Ukraine in total ruins. From there, Ukraine became economically and politically the second-most powerful republic of the USSR, behind only the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. It even became a European leader in industrial production and an important centre of the Soviet arms industry and high-tech research. In fact, during the post war years, Ukraine’s industrial productivity doubled its pre-war level. It likened, as even the western analysts held, “wonders of West German and Japanese reconstruction”, but characteristically without foreign capital. The increase of agricultural production was also tremendous in socialist Ukraine, so much so that it was called the granary of the USSR. There were, however, shortages from difficulties in distribution, as the former private operators or the former landlords relentlessly tried to create impediments to the highly-centralized system of state trading. All the fruits of development accrued to the people in socialist Ukraine. But the table was turned after the demise of Stalin and usurpation of the leadership of Soviet Union and Soviet Communist Party by the revisionists. As against development along socialist line, the revisionist leadership reversed the direction and the concomitant evils were manifest at all levels of economy and society. Agriculture suffered so much that USSR had to import food. From 1965 the industrial growth in Ukraine decreased, and finally stagnated. Ukraine’s economy contracted further and severely following the years after the Soviet dissolution. The transition from socialism to capitalism only meant sufferings and downfall for the majority of the population, of which nearly 25% plunged into poverty. A significant number of citizens in rural Ukraine survived by growing their own food, often working for two or more jobs and buying the basic necessities through the barter economy. More than 60 million of Ukrainians had gone abroad in search of livelihood, who remit virtually 25 % GDP back home. Mortality rate rose fast; scope of decent education receded from common people. Ukraine was hit by the economic crisis of 2008 and the country which once developed without foreign aid had to live on a humiliating IMF approved stand-by loan of $16.5 billion. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) kept on rising in Ukraine after dismantling of socialism. Yet the country has had trouble maintaining stable economic growth. The hyperinflationary levels in the 1990s pushed Ukraine to hold the world record for inflation in one calendar year in 1993. Naturally, people’s resentment also went on mounting sharply and fast, though without a strong genuine revolutionary leadership to direct their wrath and resentment along the right track. The reactionary rightist forces took full advantage of that to mislead the suffering Ukrainians and engineer supine submission to western imperialist dictates in the name of bringing change. The question of major-minor, dominant-subordinate nationalities The debacle revisionist leadership brought to the republics of the former USSR was further evident on the question of relations between the nationalities there. As mentioned, ethnic-linguistic differences persisted among the people of Ukraine, derived from their historical past. In fact, such differences were there in many of the other republics of the USSR. There was also a conflict between the different nationalities and the dominant Russian nationality the latter being historically the most developed among all. Great leader Stalin had taken due cognizance of this problem, correctly diagnosed its root on the anvil of Marxism-Leninism and charted out the remedial course within the socialist system. He showed that Russian autocratic rulers “brutally persecutes the national cultures, the languages, customs and institutions of the “alien’’ nationalities in Russia. It deprives them of their essential civil rights, oppresses them in every way, hypocritically sows distrust and hostility among them and incites them to bloody collisions …..its sole object is …. to intensify national strife among them, to reinforce national barriers in order more successfully to disunite …… the entire proletariat of Russia into small national groups and in this way bury the class consciousness of the workers, their class unity. That is in the interests of Russian reaction…” (The Social-Democratic view of the National Question) So he emphasized that the great banner of socialism would cover, “not only Russian proletarians, but the proletarians of all the nationalities in Russia, and, consequently, that it will do everything to break down the national barriers that have been raised to separate them…. taken by themselves, the so-called “national interests” and “national demands” are of no particular value; that these “interests,” and “demands” deserve our attention only in so far as they stimulate, or can stimulate, the proletariat’s class consciousness, its class development.” (ibid) But, how to operationalize that in socialism? Stalin said that each nationality be granted regional autonomy as “it does not deal with a fiction bereft of territory, but with a definite population inhabiting a definite territory” and ensuring that “ it breaks down these barriers and unites the population in such a manner as to open the way for division of a different kind, division according to classes. Finally it makes it possible to utilize the natural wealth of the region and to develop its productive forces in the best possible way without awaiting the decisions of a common centre – functions which are not inherent features of cultural-national autonomy.” (Marxism and the National Question) Aware of the fact that the fear of “the minorities oppressed by the national majorities” did loom large he held that fear could be dispelled through the process of true democratization. Elaborating the concept, Stalin wrote, granting “equal rights of nations in all forms (language, schools, etc.) is an essential element in the solution of the national question. Consequently, a state law based on complete democratization of the country is required, prohibiting all national privileges without exception and every kind of disability or restriction on the rights of national minorities. That and that alone, is the real, not a paper guarantee of the rights of a minority.” And then he added, ‘‘…We know where the demarcation of workers according to nationalities leads to. The disintegration of a united workers’ party, the splitting of trade unions according to nationalities, aggravation of national friction, national strikebreaking, complete demoralization within the ranks of Social-Democracy – such are the results of organizational federalism. ….The only cure for this is organization on the basis of internationalism… we are confronted by two fundamentally different types of organization: the type based on international solidarity and the type based on the organizational “demarcation” of the workers according to nationalities. Attempts to reconcile these two types have so far been vain.…The path of “compromise” must therefore be discarded as utopian and harmful…the principle of international solidarity of the workers is an essential element in the solution of the national question.”(ibid) Extending this thought to the question of the right of nations to self-determination, Stalin clarified : ‘‘The question of the rights of nations is not an isolated, self-sufficient question; it is a part of the general problem of proletarian revolution, subordinate to the whole, and must be considered from the point of view of the whole.’’ (Foundations of Leninism) Guided by these invaluable teachings of Stalin, Ukraine, like other Soviet republics, started emerging from its fragmented, colonial shape through the process of amalgamating different nationalities of that republic into a single modern nation. This was true despite the distinct linguistic and even ethnic differences in the eastern and western parts of Ukraine and despite the fact that reactionary elements continued to exist in the socialist Ukraine which always tried to fan up national jingoism playing upon this ethnic linguistic division. Crime of modern revisionism In sharpest contrast to this wise and prudent vision on the nationality question and the guidance to resolve the differences based on the higher thoughts of proletarian internationalism, the modern revisionist leadership that usurped power in the CPSU and the USSR traversed in a complete reverse direction and in fact subtly fuelled the suppressed nationality feelings within the country. Under revisionism, the nationality question instead of being resolved through pursuit of true scientific course of imbibing the true spirit of international solidarity of the working class rising above all nationality-ethnicity-based divisions, assumed critical dimension and for obvious reasons, took an anti-Russian nationality form. This was further propelled by some utterly erroneous move on the part of revisionist Soviet leadership in the international sphere. True internationalists never intervene in the internal matters of any country but do extend ideological and moral support to growth and development of true revolutionary leadership and organization of the masses through stepping up ideological- social-political-cultural struggles so as to overthrow the respective exploitative capitalist regimes. But the revisionists either capitulated to nuclear as well as diplomatic blackmailing by the imperialist camp or tried to protect or extend their spheres of influence by bluntly helping an individual or a group of their choice to rise to power in some country with the help of a section of its bureaucracy and army and also a section of national bourgeoisie of that country. Sometimes they did not even hesitate to send military into that country, which came down to mean military invasion or intervention into latter, such as it were in Afghanistan. They held that such moves would stimulate revolution. This flawed policy of exporting revolution made hegemonism as an integral part of the international policy of modern revisionism. And soon the toiling people of the world mistook Soviet Union to be a superpower akin to the western imperialists and hence began alienating themselves from it. This faulty stand of modern revisionists not only hampered the revolutionary movements in different countries, it also maligned the nobility of Marxism to patriotic people of different countries, with the communists appearing to them as ‘conspirators’, ‘occupiers’ or such others. It also adversely affected the nationality feelings in the Soviet states. The dominant or major nationalities adopted a bureaucratic high-handed attitude towards minor nationalities and the latter developing fear and mistrust about the former. The maladies or vices that Stalin precisely warned against started to crop up in the Soviet states. Fertile ground was thus created for the different reactionary forces to play upon and to incite people with their anti-communist propaganda or actions. Counter revolution drove in the last nail Once counter-revolution succeeded in Soviet Union following revisionist conspiracy aided and abetted by the imperialist powers, the matter only went towards worse. Remorseless desire for hegemony to become a superpower competing with the US imperialists, drove these counter-revolutionaries to such a depth that they even helped from outside to accomplish armed counter-revolution in another country. This was glaring in the case of Romania, where the communist party, among a few others in the then world, was critical of the revisionist leadership on many different issues. After fragmentation of the USSR, the erstwhile soviet republics turned into capitalist states. And courtesy the misdeeds and intrigues of the revisionists, adverse feeling, even apprehension and mistrust towards not only Russia and its leadership, but even Marxism- Leninism are on the rise. Seizing that opportunity, the bourgeois rulers of these republics keen to quell the mounting discontent and wrath among the people against ruthless capitalist oppression, have been inciting the ethnic –linguistic nationality divisions to keep disrupt people’s unity, pit one section against the other and distract them from the source of their predicament. This is propelling an anti-Russian sentiment among other nationalities. Capitalist Ukraine has become a playground for imperialist intrigues The present Ukrainian crisis, accompanying strife between the Ukrainian- speaking and Russian speaking cum ethnic Russian nationalities, the increasing trend of looking towards Europe in the western part of Ukraine, while in the eastern part to remain solidly with Russia and the handling of the crisis by the present capitalist rulers of the Russian Federation should be judged on the anvil of the above discussion. It must also be noted that even though the former president Yanukovych was heading none else but a capitalist government, the opposition which staged the 3-month long anti-government agitation and finally came to power was studded with branded pro- western imperialist discredited elements as well as rabid anti-communist fascist forces enjoying full patronage and support from their mentors the different imperialist powers of the EU and the USA. It was true that the Yanukovych regime lost its credibility in face of rampant corruption and increasing frustration of the younger generation over the government’s failure to ensure a better quality of life. People’s resentment had also spread to the eastern Russian-speaking regions. Even a secessionist movement cropped up in the Lviv region of the Ukrainian-speaking west. Still then, in a recent poll conducted when protest demonstrations were at their peak, 45% people wanted the agitation to stop. Even the agitation was opposed. For instance, Borotba (Struggle) group, a combination of four or five, anti-capitalist and anti-racist groups, including former members of the youth organization of the Communist Party of Ukraine organized demonstrations before the US and British embassies in Kiev shouting slogans like “Ukraine is no colony,” “Against the oligarchs and fascists” and “No civil war in Ukraine.” It means the reality is not what the imperialist powers want the world to believe. EU deal was no boon to Ukraine people EU, on the other hand, guided by the capitalist motive to grab, had already brought the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania of the erstwhile Soviet Union under its fold. It also dangled the promise of free trade and financial help by proposing a partnership agreement with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldavia, Belarus, and Ukraine. After years of negotiation, Yanukovych, agreed to sign an “association agreement”. But as mentioned above, he backtracked and was ultimately deposed. But the said deal with the EU was not to be any boon for Ukraine’s people. It was tied to an IMF bailout that mandated huge cut in public-spending and hiking gas prices. It was to open Ukraine market to EU goods, shutting down much of local production. But, it was not to give Ukraine EU membership to allow Ukrainian workers to work freely in the West. The deal was thus of the same kind which had suffocated workers and common people in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and even more prosperous EU countries. The EU association agreement also proposed deeper Ukraine-NATO links. Thus the pro-EU and pro-USA forces that have now come to power are set to sacrifice the national economic interests of Ukraine, and especially the interests of the working class, in the interest of their own capitalists and imperialist finance capital, as well as military objectives of the NATO. That is sure to affect whatever industrial power Ukraine still retains even after it has come down from the high level attained under socialism. The NATO also eyes the ports of Ukraine in Crimea for its warships to enter the Black Sea. This also prompts their concern for Russian position there and vis-à-vis it the Russian eagerness to maintain its hold on that peninsula. Moreover, most of the supply pipe lines of gas and oil from Russia to Europe and other parts of the world pass through Ukraine. Russia exports over 30% of Europe’s gas consumption. Further Ukraine is fourth in the world in export of foodgrains. Such strategic economic importance has made Ukraine catch the eyes of the EU and US imperialists vying for a grip over the world economy. Present crisis is merely conflict of interests of imperialists: people have nothing to gain from it So, the capitalist rule in Ukraine after dismantling of socialism was bringing forth crisis in people’s life as elsewhere in entire capitalist world. The government was unable to address people’s problems and demands. This generated huge resentment among the masses. Proper political consciousness among people was marked by its absence; taking advantage of it ethnic-linguistic tension and strife had been incessantly fanned up; correct revolutionary leadership to guide people was lacking. All this helped the dormant reactionaries of the country and the imperialist vultures to find a fertile ground to carry through their designs. The intense market crisis and recession made it urgent for the imperialists to look for newer markets, to bring in more and more countries into their fold. Among others, Ukraine market has become their target. On the other hand, the Russian capitalism, that was reigning since the counter-revolution is also out to pursue its hegemonic aspiration for developing and expanding its own sphere of influence. This clash among the Russian capitalism, EU and US imperialism is plainly centred on grabbing market and extending spheres of influence. Obviously, this has nothing to do with the interest of the people of Ukraine bled white under gruelling capitalist exploitation. The capitalist rulers of the country as also the imperialist hawks, including the Russian rulers care a fig for people’s suffering. In fact, they thrive on escalated suffering, mutual distrust and disaffection among the people. But whoever gains out of this conflict of imperialists and whoever loses out would not mitigate the hardship of the people. Rather, it would sustain ethnic-nationality conflicts, escalate war tensions in the region and subject people to more and more suffering. With the rabid anti-communist, anti-Russian and even anti-Semitic fascist forces rising to power, the progressive democratic minded working people including those sympathetic to socialism are sure to face severe coercion and oppression. Already the omens are there. The US imperialist rulers are spitting unbridled venom against the progressive democratic minded section of the population branding them as opponents to their schemes. Hence the sooner the better, working people of Ukraine come to this realization that the capitalist rule they have ushered in with counter revolution would bring no respite to them from any problem, any exploitation. From experience, they now understand what they have lost with the fall of socialism and what ruinous has been the consequence of drifting away from the invaluable teachings of Marxism- Leninism. The situation has unequivocally upheld the lesson that only socialism in proper perspective is the real alternative for people; neither revisionism in the cloak of socialism nor capitalism- imperialism can free people from exploitation, disunity, discrimination and oppression. Hence the goal is singular and that is overthrow of capitalism again along with throwing down these imperialist demons from their shoulder. For that, they will need a strong revolutionary leadership, would have to isolate the anti-people forces. Which course they would tread upon and how, they will have to determine themselves. It is they who will have to decide their destiny. Certainly they need no guardian or overlord. And so they must not let themselves land in the lap of the US imperialists or for that matter any other imperialists in the name of resisting Russia.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:04:13 +0000
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